We’ve seen it a million times and have heard about it even more. Teams are going to try to run on Jon Lester, or they’re at least going to take big leads and try to get in the pitcher’s head. Yes, the same pitcher who’s beaten cancer and won World Series titles in Boston and Chicago. The guy who’s seen more runners thrown out this year than any other in baseball.
Sure, Lester isn’t a guy who throws to bases, that much has been true since well before his time in Chicago. But the funny thing about hackneyed narratives is that they tend to be perpetuated in the face of contrary experience, particularly when you’ve got a grit-tastic skipper in the other dugout.